Hurricane season draws more attention to homeowners insurance

Homeowners flood Insurance

Homeowners insurance becomes top priority as hurricane season approaches

Hurricane season in the U.S. is fast approaching, which means that many states along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Coast are beginning to take steps to raise awareness of prominent homeowners insurance issues. In the past, powerful hurricanes have caused significant damage in several states. The most recent example of how much damage can be caused by one of these natural disasters can be seen in 2012’s Hurricane Sandy. The homeowners insurance sector continues to reel from the disaster even six months after it struck the East Coast.

Consumers being urged to check their homeowners insurance policies

Hurricane season is expected to start on June 1 of this year and will last through November. In Virginia, Insurance Commissioner Jacqueline Cunningham has begun to raise awareness concerning various homeowners insurance issues that may arise in the event of a powerful hurricane disaster. The Commissioner is primarily warning homeowners to ensure that they have adequate homeowners insurance coverage before any major hurricane or storm has a chance to form. Once a storm has formed, it can be almost impossible to find the coverage necessary to account for the damage that storm may cause.

Homeowners Insurance and hurricane seasonFlood insurance could be a vital piece of protection

The Insurance Commissioner is also noting that the vast majority of damage caused by hurricanes comes from flooding. This issue, in particular, has the potential to cause significant problems for those with conventional homeowners insurance policies as these policies do not typically offer protection against flood damage. This protection can usually only be found through the National Flood Insurance Program, which is operated by the federal government. Commissioner Cunningham is urging those with homeowners insurance to make sure that their properties are guarded against the risks of flooding.

Many problems caused by Hurricane Sandy involve flood insurance, or lack thereof

Hurricane Sandy has shown how problematic a lack of flood insurance can be. Many homeowners in New Jersey and New York continue to struggle to recover in the wake of the storm due to the damage caused by floods and the fact that their homeowners insurance policies do not provide coverage for such damage. Commissioner Cunningham is keen to ensure that Virginia residents avoid such a fate in the event of a major hurricane disaster.